Lose on my own or gastric sleeve???

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cutelatinkiss4u
cutelatinkiss4u Posts: 2
in Introduce Yourself
I am hoping to find some supportive people here in hopes I can get on the right path to a healthier me. My weight has been ballooning up and up. I suffer from PCOS, have a herniated lower back disk and 4 bulging disk in my neck from a car accident. Since then my health just took a dive and now I have a desk job that keeps me sitting for 9.5 hours a day. I am getting to a point that I am looking at getting gastric sleeve surgery but first I want to see if I can do this on my own.

If anyone can give me any suggestions on how to start I would be grateful. My joints hurt all the time so crazy cardio is not an option. Please help!!!

Friends and support needed. Thank you!!!

:s

Replies

  • queenliz99
    queenliz99 Posts: 15,317 Member
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    It seems so drastic. I wouldn't do this but then I am not you. You still need to learn how to eat less. There are a lot of people on this website with very successful outcomes. Check out this guy, his story is amazing.

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1103164/3-yrs-312lbs-lost-1yr-from-bodylift-and-maintenance/p1
  • Socialwacker
    Socialwacker Posts: 30 Member
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    Just being here is an excellent start! I would always look at the least intrusive options for weight loss first. I find tracking your food through MFP has helped me a lot! The hardest part for me is learning not to put food in my mouth beyond my daily allotted quota! If you can walk - get a pedometer and start by just seeing how many steps you take in an average day and strive to do a few 100 more to start if that's all you can physically manage. A journey of many pounds stars with a single step and a closed mouth! Good luck we are all here for you!
  • funchords
    funchords Posts: 413 Member
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    If you can ask the question, the answer is to lose on your own.

    On July 9th, I was preparing for bariatric surgery when my surgeon's staff recommended MyFitnessPal for food tracking (you need to track your food intake after the surgery). They assigned it as weekly homework, along with walking 3 days for 30 minutes. It worked very well. After the 3-week homework assignment was over, I kept tracking and walking.

    In just two more weeks, I started having hypoglycemia. My blood glucose was in the 80s and I needed some sugar immediately. If you've ever had it, you know the feeling: hot, confused, weak, a little sick. 5 weeks of walking and doing fairly well on MyFitnessPal had changed my needs. I ended up dropping all of my insulin and most of my metformin. In two more weeks, I dropped everything. My blood glucose is in the high 60s and low 70s and I feel just fine. My HbA1C is 5.6 -- same as a non-diabetic.

    I continued on MyFitnessPal and walking and I put my surgery on hold. I've now lost 90 pounds in just 6.5 months and while I love the weight loss, the headline is that my diabetes is totally controlled with diet and exercise and I'm not having surgery to correct it.

    With the surgery would have come group counseling and education. Since I didn't have it, I joined TOPS or Take Off Pounds Sensibly for support and education. TOPS is a decades old non-profit dedicated to help people lose weight.

    That's been my program: MyFitnessPal, Walking 3x a week, and TOPS.

  • loribethrice
    loribethrice Posts: 620 Member
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    You coming here is great! I don't think I'd recommend gastric sleeve surgery. I work in a hospital that does those and I've seen a LOT of very sick people afterwards. If you were going to do the weight loss surgery route I'd recommend a lap band because that can be adjusted or be removed. It's not as awful for you. But, I have PCOS also, work a desk job, and have lost over 60lbs in the past 14 months so I know you can do it too! I lost my first 45lbs just counting calories and then I've lost the rest counting calories and exercising after work at the gym.
  • Woodspoon
    Woodspoon Posts: 223 Member
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    Self control.
    Yeah I know, easier said than done
    But that's all it comes down to in the end and that's all that will stop you from reverting in the future.
  • kmblank
    kmblank Posts: 43 Member
    edited January 2015
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    Gastric Surgery works for many people, however it is a very big lifestyle change. You will have to monitor what you eat at all times, suffer through nausea if you take in too much food and it's not the magic cure for obesity - which unfortunately a lot of people think.

    You will still have to make healthy choices with your food. You still need to find an exercise that works for you - you don't need "crazy cardio" to lose weight. With your joint/back issues, working out in a pool would be a great option or working with someone to find a good weight routine and you still will have PCOS. One of the reason's people fail at gastric surgery and gain the weight back is they don't change their environment and how they think about food. Anyways, good luck...would definitely talk in detail to your PCP and maybe see if there is a support group for people that have been through the surgery so you can get your questions answered.
  • Iron_Feline
    Iron_Feline Posts: 10,750 Member
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    I would say on your own - surgery isn't a magic bullet and comes with risks. You will still need to eat less and manage your food even with the surgery - why not do it without it. I know it's easier said than done but the sad fact is a very high percentage of people put the weight back on after WLS, I would try here first - but do it properly and sensibly - this is a great read

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1080242/a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants

    Have a look and try to finds a group who have PCOS so you can talk to people in the same situation - it's hard but not impossible as people who have already posted have proven.

    Good luck
  • flumi_f
    flumi_f Posts: 1,888 Member
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    Love your story funchords! Congratulations.

    Cutelatin - funchords is not alone. I think, many people turned from surgery after losing during preparation for it. Both roads are not easy and need disiplin. Even with surgery you will have to change your intake and fix your relationship with food. I read an article a while back - even with a gastric bypass, the body gets used to it after about two years and learns to take more nutrition and cals out of the food again. Thus the reason, those that 'just' had the surgery, but did not change their habits, gain again after a few years.

    It is your decision. Try MFP for a while and see what it does for you. The surgery won't runaway, but maybe it won't be necessary anymore.
  • LaineyVAhimsa
    LaineyVAhimsa Posts: 28 Member
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    Research veganism, a lot of people have got healthier and lost weight, even ridded themselves of illnesses on a vegan diet. I've been vegan for 7 months. Its worth a try, before considering surgery. :)
  • wizzybeth
    wizzybeth Posts: 3,573 Member
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    This is a very personal decision....I would never have surgery....I would definitely try to lose on myself first - but do it whole-heartedly. Read the threads in the Getting Started board (linked below) to help you get going the right way.

    I have two friends that I know of that had the surgery and eventually the weight crept back, but they also had issues enjoying certain foods they used to like.

    I opt to do it this way and be able to enjoy my favorite foods when I want a treat. You can do it with MFP and even without exercise - it's easier with exercise but not being able to exercise is no reason to not try MFP. Good luck on whatever you decide.

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1399829/step-by-step-guide-to-losing-weight-with-myfitnesspal#latest

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1080242/a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants#latest

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1235566/so-youre-new-here#latest
  • april731
    april731 Posts: 122 Member
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    For a different perspective, from someone who has been sleeved - it was the best decision I've ever made. I've lost and gained weight repeatedly, including using MFP and weight watchers - I know how to lose weight, but keeping it off is the hard part. The surgery gives you a few extra tools - like decreasing ghrelin production (hunger hormone) and I don't care that much about what I eat anymore so it's much easier to make better choices. Is it the right choice for everyone? No. But I would discuss it with your doctor and see if it might be the right choice for YOU. I was on a collision course with really poor health, so it was hands-down the right choice for me. I'm happier and healthier than I've ever been in my life. There are a few bariatric surgery groups on here that may be helpful and obesityhelp.com is also a great resource. Good luck to you!
  • WednesdayJanuary07th2015
    WednesdayJanuary07th2015 Posts: 163
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    Another problem with surgery is that, you'll most likely lose a lot of weight so fast; that you'll have excess skin. If you do choose surgery & then have extra skin, possibly you could have it removed for free (I don't know how much/if at all insurance would cover this procedure); if you donate it to a burn unit/for skin grafts for burn victims. However though I don't recommend anything invasive, like surgery because of the heightened risk of complications, possibly you could get a pedal exerciser & put it under your desk and/or even your dinning table, in front of your couch, anywhere you sit for extended periods of time. When not using your hands to work/eat, possibly also use the lowest weight dumbbell, you can find & use them when pedaling & watching a movie/show. With a stability ball, you could just rock back & forth with; mainly using your legs, butt or abdomen. I wish you the best of luck, with whatever you choose!
  • tat2cookie
    tat2cookie Posts: 1,902 Member
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    I've also recently had the sleeve done (jan 15th). It's wasn't an easy decision and took me almost a year to get approval. I too have pcos. I'm in general a pretty active person and switched to the paleo lifestyle almost 3 years ago. So believe me when I tell you that I tried VERY hard to "do it myself." After weighing the pros and cons of surgery, the pros won hands down. And regardless of what everyone thinks or says... I'm still doing this on my own, I was not even close to being the easy way out and it was a very personal decision that no one else has any business knowing. If some one kept getting tonsillitis would you expect them to keep their tonsils in and just do everything they can from getting sick, or would you understand that in order from getting sick they needed to be removed. It's kind of the same situation for some people. We are not all built the same, we do not all respond to food the same, we have issues that some just don't have. So in order from getting "sick" (type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, heart failure, edema, organ failure.. Ect) we have surgery to help that from happening. I say you do what you need to do to be as healthy as you can.

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